1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to program guides and remote control systems for use in operating home entertainment systems and, more particularly, to a remote control unit having a visual display for depicting a program guide, advertising and/or other content. The present invention also is directed to systems and methods for providing graphic program scheduling and/or advertising information on a remote control display and to systems and methods for monitoring and analyzing user viewing habits and, thereafter, tailoring programming and/or advertising content to the interests of a particular viewer or device user.
2. Description of Related Art
Electronic Program Guides (EPGs) or Interactive Program Guides (IPGs) are applications which normally run on a screen of a television set or on a set-top box, with the program guide information appearing on the screen of the television. The problem with this approach is that the guide data must either replace or overlay the program that the user is watching, thus interfering with normal program viewing. This is especially a problem when a group of people is watching the television set and only one of them (usually the one with the remote control) wants to access the program guide.
Heretofore, various systems and devices for displaying a program guide on a television screen have been proposed. Examples of some of these program guide systems and related systems are disclosed in the following U.S. patents:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Patentee ______________________________________ 5,151,789 Young 5,220,420 Hoarty et al. 5,353,121 Young et al. 5,410,326 Goldstein 5,479,266 Young et al. 5,479,268 Young et al. 5,502,504 Marshall et al. 5,515,106 Chaney et al. 5,517,254 Monta et al. 5,523,796 Marshall et al. 5,524,141 Braun et al. 5,524,195 Clanton, III et al. 5,528,304 Cherrick et al. 5,532,754 Young et al. 5,537,107 Funado 5,550,576 Klosterman 5,557,338 Maze et al. 5,559,548 Davis et al. 5,568,272 Levine 5,576,755 Davis et al. 5,579,055 Hamilton et al. 5,585,866 Miller et al. 5,585,838 Lawler, et al. 5,589,892 Knee et al. 5,592,551 Lett et al. 5,596,373 White et al. 5,600,573 Bendricks, et al. 5,629,733 Youman, et al. 5,710,601 Marshall, et al. ______________________________________
Also, heretofore, two U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,282,028 and 5,406,558, have proposed the display of a music program information on an alphanumeric character display of a remote control for a digital music tuner. These patents state that the remote control could also receive video program information from a television set-top converter box. However, in all instances, the program data is limited to information concerning a particular song or video title that is being or may be broadcast, and there is no suggestion that the program data could or should include graphic program scheduling or advertising data. A typical program message includes, for example, information concerning the composer, track title, the artist and the album associated with the track title.
Thus, prior to the subject invention, it is believed that those skilled in the art failed to fully appreciate the usefulness of a remote control device. Specifically, those skilled in the art have failed to appreciate that a graphic display of a remote control device may be utilized to deliver both program scheduling and advertising data to a user without causing an interruption in any programming that currently is being viewed by the user.
Those skilled in the art have also failed to appreciate that, by providing intelligence within a remote control device, and by configuring the remote control device for two-way communication with the computer systems of content providers, it is possible to acquire and analyze substantial data regarding the program viewing habits of a user. After such data acquisition and analysis, it also is possible to provide the user with programming and/or advertising content that is tailored to the user's interests or demographic profile.